For many years, Agwagune, a coastal
community in Biase Local Government Area, Cross River state suffered
flood disasters but a solution came last weekend through the provision
of housing units five kilometers from the bank of the river that yearly
wrecked its ancestral location. The joy of the people knew no bounds as
they rolled out the drums singing, dancing and commending government
for making good its promise to relocate them, but they did not fail to
inform government that the housing units were not enough given the
increasing population of Agwagune.
Zana Akpaga, the special adviser on
special duties who inaugurated the modern housing units on behalf of
Governor Liyel Imoke said that it was one of the major steps taken by
Mr. Imoke’s administration to resettle the Agwagune community which had
almost been completely wiped out by landslide and flooding.
Mr. Akpaga recalled that for over 47
years the community had been troubled by this natural disaster which
washed away about 90 percent of the habitable land mass along with
houses, economic trees, livestock and sometime human beings, displacing
several thousands of people. He said the resettlement became very
necessary having considered other options of rehabilitation and
reconstruction which were impracticable because of the high risk of
continuous slides due to the inadhesive nature of the earth’s crust. He
added that his administration’s was willing to remain committed to the
welfare of its citizens and promised to continue to exploit every
avenue that would guarantee security from any form of disaster.
High natural disaster portfolio
Mr. Imoke regretted the high natural
disaster portfolio of the state which he observed was putting
unwarranted strain on its socio-economic status and appealed to the
federal government to increase its gestures to the state especially in
environmental matters. While congratulating the beneficiaries of the
17-unit flats, he promised that more structures would be built to
accommodate other families not favoured in the first phase.
The governor used the opportunities to further appeal to the federal
government to commence the construction of 200 unit of 400 flats
promised the community as the state government has kept its own side of
the bargain by providing land and access roads. In his remarks, the
director-general, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA),
Vincent Aquah, commended the state government for providing the houses,
pointing out that the gesture meets international standards of
resettlement for the displaced.
Mr. Aquah stated that the construction
of more houses was necessary as several families displaced are still
squatting or living in shanty structures far below human standards.
Some of the beneficiaries, Mary Ogban and Monday Edodi, expressed
gratitude to the state government for the gesture saying that they were
proud of the state government for bringing hope to their families
again. Narrating their experience, they said that their houses were
swept into the river with all their property in 2000 and that since
than they have been surviving as refugees. The 17-unit flats
constructed by the state government are located on a high ground about
5km from the disaster area.
